KJZZ’s Holliday Moore caught up with former Governor Symington to discuss his interest in John McCain’s open U.S. Senate seat:

Sixteen years after re-inventing himself and turning his focus on opening the Arizona Culinary Institute, Symington is intrigued over the idea of running again for office, but said he’s also torn.

“It’s a professional program,” he said about the Scottsdale school where some 150 people graduate each year. “It’s just been a real joy in my life. So, it would be hard to make the change and leave that behind.”

The New York Times published an account of John McCain’s funeral tribute in Phoenix. Current and former political leaders from across Arizona attended, including Governor Symington.

As Mr. McCain was lying in state, his immediate family and Arizona political leaders paid tribute to the naval aviator, who endured torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. They remembered him as an example of a statesman striving to unite Americans regardless of their political beliefs.

A few comments from former Governor Symington are sprinkled throughout the article.

Regarding Uber’s autonomous vehicle project:

“All new technologies bring risk of some sort,” he said. “Just look at the Apollo program and the astronauts who were killed on the launchpad in Florida. We didn’t shut down the moon program because of it.”

Regarding the teacher pay issue:

“Lawmakers do their best to listen to everybody, but they’re elected to make tough decisions, as is the governor,” Symington said. “They’re going to get the budget out and done and that’ll be the end of it.”